More than twenty years ago, a copy of an important family document was sent to me here in Australia. It was a typed list of family members’ names with notes. These were transcribed from the handwritten account of Frederick Albert Bulman, or FAB. He was the father of Verona Irene Bulman, the woman to whom this site is dedicated.
There are some obvious transcription errors such as the transposition of numbers within a particular year. There are errors that are probably the result of a faulty memory. This might have been FAB’s or his informant’s. Some of these errors can be discerned in the document. Others have been discovered when comparisons were made to other sources.
The account of the family goes back to the pater familias, John Bulman. John was supposed to have been born in 1756. His marriage was given as occurring in 1782 and his death in 1826. No locations are given. Unfortunately, no spouse is mentioned either. However, I have some ideas about who this might have been. Eventually, I will also share some of the surmises that others have made as to who this John Bulman was. Not everyone agrees.
At the moment, I can only give a bare outline of the facts. It will take a great many posts to list and make brief comments on each person known to us in one way or another. It will take more time to mention something of their lives and times. I will also want to continue to weave the story of the Hayes, Peper and Bates families into my tale. And, there are other lines of interest such as the Robins, Jarvis and Kunferman families.
This will all be accomplished in due time. For now, let’s get back to FAB’s list.
F.A. Bulman’s document states that John Bulman had three sons: Jeremiah, Peter and Henry. This caused me some troubles for a time. I could not find Peter in the data. What I did discover, through the help of others, was that a Patrick Bulman and a Sarah Viele or Vale (both spellings are found in the transcriptions of the church records) were married in Ballston Center near Schenectady, New York in March of 1817.
In FAB’s scheme, Peter Bulman married Sally Vale. Could Patrick be our Peter and Sarah our Sally? What gave me hope was the fact that a Henry Bulman was also married in the same Presbyterian Church in January of 1817.
Now is not the time to detail the sources and sequelae of the search. Let me just say that I am confident that these are two of the three Bulman brothers listed in FAB’s notes. What about Jeremiah Bulman?
There was a Jeremiah Bulman living in Paris near Utica in Oneida County, New York as early as 1820 according to the census data. He was still in Oneida County in 1840 when Patrick was also listed nearby. More accurately, Jeremiah has moved somewhat north along the Deansville-Clinton-Utica road into Kirkland Township by 1840. Patrick seems to have been living among Jeremiah’s old neighbours at that time according to the census information for Marshall Township.
Again, I will refrain from detailing all of what we now know of the Bulman family in Oneida and at Schenectady. We merely need mention that FAB indicates that one of the sons of Peter Bulman was named Jeremiah Delos Bulman. According to the notes, he was born some 18 miles south of Attica [Utica] in Oneida County, New York.
This would have been in what was once known as Brothertown, New York. It became more widely known as Marshall Township as the Brotherton Indian Nation sold their properties and moved to Wisconsin. Interestingly, most of the Patrick Bulman family moved to Wisconsin the same year that members of an important Brotherton family finally moved west. Much more will be written on this later.
J.D. Bulman was F.A. Bulman’s father. He was also Verona’s grandfather. However, Verona never met him. He died eight years before Verona’s birth in 1911.
The photo is of a plane that Verona Irene Bulman's husband (Otis A. Hayes) and brother (Percy H. Bulman) built in 1930. Since both men lived past the year 1930, the plane either flew or the men decided not to fly the plane.
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